Do you think that such high house prices are making more people stay in bad / unhappy marriages these days?

[HoneyNectar]

I know that overall, most people would expect a drop in income / standard of living post divorce, but are house prices now making divorce an impossibility for many people?

In most areas of the UK, you now need 2 good salaries coming in, in order to buy an average family home.

Lots of families are in negative equity with their mortgages.

The benefits available to single parents are somewhat less than they used to be (especially in comparison to the hugely increased cost of living).

Do you think there must be lots of people who are staying in unhappy marriages for mainly financial reasons? It's all very well expecting a drop in income, but not being able to afford a house at all is a different kettle of fish, surely?

I think that's been going on for decades. Regardless if houses. Some folk just don't like to rock their financial security.

*of house prices

Well yeah, I'm sure that has always been the case to a certain extent.

But surely for many families in the current economic climate, separating and providing 2 places to live (however small) is simply impossible?

Yes I think so. H and I either need to get on a lot better (which is looking impossible at the moment and has for a long time) or separate. However the thought of the financial mayhem that would ensue as well as the acrimony (from h) makes me break out in a cold sweat.

I see some good friends stay in very unhappy/abusive marriages because of this. I am in London and the property situation is impossible here. I left an abusive marriage, but my ex wasn't working and we were renting, so I ended up in a council flat on benefits as there was no house to split. Some people would be horrified to end up in that situation, but to me it was far more dignified than to put up with an awful relationship. In a way it was an easier decision for me because I wasn't going from a good financial situation to a poor one, as we were already poor anyway! But for those who already have a nice mortgaged home, and who know they couldn't afford to keep it on in a marriage split, to go from that to a council flat in a scruffy area seems worse to some women than putting up with an abuser and raising children in an abusive family.

I think the opposite actually. When prices are booming people have equity in their house to help find deposit for new place. When prices stagnate or fall people really do feel trapped as no deposit equals no new house. I have sen this over the last 3 decades and it has always panned out this way. Good times and easy credit leads to a rise in separations

get
The new place will be also more expensive if prices are rising, no?

I do agree OP. It is not only the housing issue imo it is also the fact that you see around insecurity, hostility to poor people, to ill, to lone parents, you see people run to food banks, you see disabled people die because of benefit cuts. I m sure it is terrifying for those who want/need leave their partner.
If NHS also go, legal aid, advice offices, CAB etc it will be even worst.

But well, they care about the hard working families, dont they?

Not really. But I think people who would settle down and maybe get married and get a mortgage are putting it off as they can't afford to buy a house. It's nothing new for people to stay in not very great marriages to provide a stable home for children and for financial security.